Deep in the California desert, there is a strange city where lawlessness reigns, where people live without running water, but create art installations in the open air and hold concerts. And that's not all the oddities!
In this collection, we will give a brief overview of the most unusual and strange settlements on Earth.
Slab City, California
Situated on the site of an old WWII Marine Corps barracks in the desert near the Salton Sea, this Californian town has no laws. You know you arrived when you see Mount Salvation, a large installation by artist Leonard Knight.
There is no running water in this place, but there is a Range open-air nightclub run by a local. On Saturdays, local musicians perform in his camps and other strange things happen. The slab attracts a motley and diverse crowd of Snowbird mobile home owners and electric dissidents: opponents of progress trying to survive without electricity.
Supillin, Estonia
In fact, this is not a separate settlement, but the outskirts of Tartu. Local streets are named after potatoes, beans and peas, which inspired Estonians to call the area Sup-city Supillin. The low two-story wooden houses look exactly like a 19th century slum. A place stuck in time.
Centralia, Pennsylvania, USA
On May 27, 1962, a fire broke out in the mine here - and after 50 years it is still burning. Most of the residents were resettled in the 1980s after the boy fell into a sinkhole in his yard, but some stayed and refuse to leave. Tourists come to gaze at the ghost town - it no longer has a zip code, even though 10 people continue to call it their home (according to the 2011 census).
Sheffield, Australia
Residents of the Australian Sheffield did not wait for tourists to come to them, they chose to act: they formed a tourism association and began a campaign to place frescoes on the walls of city houses with historical subjects. Now in the village there are more than 60 frescoes, an art studio open to the public, and since 2003 the International Festival of Wall Paintings has been held. About 200,000 people annually visit the self-proclaimed "open-air art gallery" on the island of Tasmania - even though the local population never exceeds 1,000 people.
Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain
This small Spanish town on the banks of the Rio Trejo river in Cadiz suffers from a multiple personality disorder, leading a secret life: many residents live in cave houses built in a gorge nearby. Rocky ridges act as architectural landmarks, providing perspective and shade during the hot summer months.
Olives, almonds and grapes are grown on plantations in the surrounding area.
Roswell, New Mexico, USA
In the summer of 1947, a UFO allegedly crashed in Roswell. This event changed the fate of the town forever. Roswell is now obsessed with aliens, and even the local McDonald's is shaped like a flying saucer. UFO tourism draws people to this small New Mexico town, where there are numerous UFO-themed shops such as the Alien Zone, an annual summer festival of unidentified flying objects.
Both skeptics and apologists of belief in universal reason and "truth is somewhere nearby" will get an excellent reason for reflection at the International UFO Museum and Research Center.
Rennes-de-Chateau, France
A small hillside village in southern France is at the center of dozens of conspiracy theories - believed to be the site of the Holy Grail. In the 1800s, the priest Berenger Saunière paid for the lavish renovation of the local church of St. Mary Magdalene. It was rumored that he did not finance the renovation through masses and donations: it was assumed that Saunière found documents in the altar of the church that led him to a hidden treasure. Saunière was the inspiration for Dan Brown's bestselling character, The Da Vinci Code.
Longyearbyen, Norway
This remote Arctic town is not made for death. Rather, so - you can die here, but you can't bury anyone; the local cemetery has not buried the dead for over a hundred years. Permafrost and low temperatures prevent corpses from decomposing properly.
After the 1917 flu epidemic, the city administration banned burials in the city cemetery. The local population of polar bears competes with the human population, and the townspeople shoot the bear in self-defense (hunting is illegal). After the bear takes his last breath in this mining town, his body is to be taken to a rented cemetery in the south of the country.
Monowie, Nebraska, USA
Everyone in town knows the name Elsie Euler, and not just because she is the mayor. She is the only inhabitant of the city. In 1930, 150 people lived in this settlement in northern Nebraska; by 2000, there was only one married couple left - Elsie with a husband named Rudy; Rudy died in 2015. Elsie Euler now serves beer at the Monowi Tavern (officially licensed to sell spirits) and has created a public library from her late husband's 5,000-volume collection of books.
Elista, Kalmykia, Russia
The king is threatened every day in this Russian administrative center, because it is all about chess here. Play a game of the huge chessboard painted on the ground in the City Square, or head to Chess City, the domed complex that hosted the 1998 Chess Olympiad.
The best world chess players have visited Elista, the capital of the Republic of Kalmykia. Another reason for its popularity is that Kalmykia is the only Buddhist region in Europe: even Chess City includes a museum of traditional Buddhist art.
Showtown, Florida, USA
For decades, Gibsonton (aka Showtown) was the wintering place for traveling circuses and traveling carnivals, and many artists stayed to while away their days until the grave.
The statue of a giant boot pays tribute to the former resident of Al-Tomani, a circus giant with shoes of size 27 (for translation into Russian sizes, boldly multiply by two and a half). Showtown Bar & Grill will allow you to meet equally colorful locals.
Gibsonton continues to serve the circus community with huge trailer parking and an elephant lawn. Located minutes from Tampa, Gisbonton is home to the International Association of Independent Showmen and the Museum of American Carnival Art.
Thames, China
China's reputation for imitation craftsmanship and tremendous enthusiasm for European culture has given birth to this complete replica of an English town, with cobbled streets and red telephone booths, pubs with traditional pints of beer and restaurants with fish and chips - all half an hour from the historic center. Shanghai.
The artificially English backdrop is popular with couples taking wedding photos. The statues of James Bond and Harry Potter are of comparable popularity.
Lilideil, New York, USA
If watching The Long Island Medium and The Alienist are your hidden hobbies, you should visit Lily Dale, the city of renowned psychics in upstate New York. Lectures are held here, an HBO documentary was filmed. Make an appointment with one of the many mediums in the city, or attend a service at the Temple of Healing.
You have a chance to connect with spiritual forces in this unique village inhabited by enlightened people of all kinds. Some are attracted here by meditation in the Forest Temple in the city center. It is important to remember that Lily Dale is a gated community; mid-range registered services are available year-round, but most events take place exclusively in the summer, and there is an admission fee of $ 5-10 per person.
